A true Lovelace Love (Oneshot)
by genhale2000
Summary: Lavender Lovelace, Jessamine's little sister, meets a Shadowhunter for the first time. And a very handsome one. Oneshot set a few years after the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare.


"May I have this dance?"

Lavender awoke from the day dream she'd been having. She'd been thinking about a conversation with her mother earlier that day. Her father had forbidden _his Vivi_ to come to her sister's wedding, because he was afraid she'd want to join the Academy and become a Shadowhunter after seeing more of her kind there. This wedding already felt as the loss of their beloved child to the Shadowhunting world, and they were not prepared to lose another. Her mother had talked to her father for her, because she'd obviously wanted to see her older sister get married. She'd never been interested in hunting anyway, so she figured her presence at a Shadowhunter party wasn't going to change that. Her mother had talked to her father and they had come to an understanding: Lavender could come, but she'd keep her contact with Shadowhunters to a minimum. She'd readily agreed.

However, she hadn't expected a Shadowhunter to actually notice her. She found her appearance average at best. She was eighteen years old, but she didn't feel like she'd completely developed yet. Perhaps she could become pretty if she came outside a bit more often. But she'd never had anyone to want to feel pretty for.

Currently, she'd wished she'd cared about her appearance just a little bit more. The man - or boy perhaps, as he looked about twenty - in front of her was very handsome. He had fair hair, the kind of hair color you only see in Northern Europe, and light blue eyes. He looked like a Scandinavian prince. For all she knew, he could be.

She realized he was still staring at her with his hand extended. He looked a bit uncomfortable and confused because of the lack of response. She smiled shyly.

"I'm sorry, I - I can't."

Now he looked even more confused.

"I promised my father I wouldn't talk to any Shadowhunters," she explained.

"But isn't it your sister who's getting married to one?" he said, while lifting one eyebrow. He sat down on a free chair.

Vivi sighed. "Yes, that's part of the problem. It's a long story."

He grinned. "I've got all the time in the world. You're the only person my age at this wedding."

"That isn't true. I'm younger than you and I can count at least 8 people our age." She nodded in the direction of a group of people, among which a boy and a girl with the exact same striking blue eyes, and two young men with bright green eyes.

"They're from the London enclave. The brother and sister are Will and Cecily Herondale and the older two brothers are Gideon and Gabriel Lightwood. You must have heard of them - a few years ago, they were sort of heroes."

"I haven't heard of them. And you're avoiding the point." She was already tired from arguing with this handsome stranger.

"Maybe you're the only person my age I'm interested in," he said, and he looked her in the eyes with a provocative look.

She felt herself blush, both from embarrassment and anger. "I promised my parents I wouldn't talk to strangers. And frankly, I think you're quite blunt."

"My apologies for my rudeness. But I don't see your parents here, and you're a grown-up lady, so you should decide for yourself if you want to talk to me. Also, it's going to be a long night if you just sit here alone."

He made a fair point. She didn't see her parents, and this would become a long night all by herself.

"All right then. But I'm not going to dance with you."

He looked smug, and she wanted to punch him in the face. "I'd like to hear the story about your parents." He did look genuinely interested, she had to give him that.

"Ahem. My parents left the Clave after they married, because they don't like the Shadowhunting world. That's how they raised us as well - in fear of all supernatural things, including the Nephilim. With my oldest sister, Jessamine, it worked very well. She went to live at the Institute when she was sixteen or so, but never learned how to hunt. My sister Primrose was the complete opposite, as you can see. When I was 7 and she was 12, she moved to Idris to study at the Shadowhunter Academy. I've barely seen her since - she never liked to come back to the mundane world after having discovered the 'wonders of Idris', as she called it herself."

The stranger had listened to her very attentively. "And with you?" he asked.

"I don't know. I've never felt the need to go hunt demons. I know about your world, and it fascinates me, but I'm more a book type of girl than a hunting type."

"I'd seen that about you," he said, with an all-knowing look on his face.

"You had? What gave it away?" she responded sarcastically.

He shrugged. "You had a dreamy look on your face, so you're imaginative. That can come only from reading. And I know you were dreaming, because you didn't respond for half a minute after I approached you."

"Wow, you're observant," she mocked.

"_Imagination in truth, is but another name for absolute strength, and clearest insight, and amplitude of mind, and reason in her most exalted mood."_

Vivi rolled her eyes. "Oh, and a show-off. Fantastic."

"William Wordsworth. It's a gift, imagination. I've never had it." He sounded sad, and almost bitter.

"You probably grew up with swords and runes, instead of books and tea," she replied.

"It was worth it," was all he said.

A new song came on. It was a slower one, more of a waltz instead of the standard two-step.

"Dance with me," her companion said, and he rose.

She didn't know if it was because of the sad look in his eyes, or because she was really tired of sitting, or because she'd always dreamed of waltzing with a handsome fair-haired blue-eyed prince, but she felt herself take his extended hand and let herself be taken to the dance floor.

She'd learned to waltz when she was ten and had always practiced with the boy next door. He'd been 5 inches shorter, so it always used to feel as if she was the leader.

That wasn't the case with her new dance partner. He was about 4 inches taller than her and his grip on her waist and hand was firm, but not painful. She suddenly liked dancing a lot more.

"You haven't told me anything about you," Vivi said quietly. They were dancing quite close, and she had to angle her head to look him in the eye.

He looked down and made a turn.

"Hello, I'm Han Monteverde, nice to meet you."

She made a surprised sound. "Monteverde. That sounds French or Italian. You don't look the part."

"Why, thank you, m'lady. Such flattering," he said sarcastically.

She laughed. "You know what I mean. You look German or Scandinavian, not Mediterranean."

"I'm surprised you even know all of those names. Most British people don't know anything about the rest of Europe."

"I'm a reader, remember? I've read Scandinavian fairytales and most romance novels are located in Italy or Spain, the countries of love." She paused. "_Monteverde_," she said softly, her 'v' just a puff of air, as she knew it was supposed to be pronounced.

He looked down at her with an odd look in his eyes. She felt herself be carried away by the music and she put her head against his chest. She didn't know why she already felt so comfortable with this man she'd never seen before. Perhaps it was the fact that she hadn't seen very many men before, and certainly not men who were interested in her.

"I have a question," she said, as they made another turn.

"Ask away." The odd look in his eyes was gone and he looked amused, as he had during most of their conversation.

"You said I was the only one our age you were interested in." She tried to keep her voice neutral.

"Yes?" Han sounded as if he knew exactly what she wanted to know.

"Why? You don't know me."

He was silent for a while, not looking her in the eyes but over her head.

"I don't know exactly." She could hear in his voice that he surprised himself as well. "It might have been the fact that you were sitting all alone, while I knew that you were the bride's sister and should be partying with friends."

"I don't have any friends." It could have sounded sad, but she said it matter-of-factly, because it was true and it had always been the same, and she didn't care because she had her books.

He ignored her comment, perhaps because he didn't know how to respond to that.

"But I think it was more the look in your eyes. You were completely in your own world. As I told you before, I admire imagination in people. You are the most imaginative looking person I've met in my life."

She laughed quietly. She felt light, a feeling she didn't understand.

The music stopped. They were just walking to the table Vivi and her parents sat at, when Vivi saw her two very angry parents walking towards her.

"Oh no," she groaned, and she took Han's hand and ran in the opposite direction, past the dance floor to a side door that looked very closed.

She pushed against the door, but it didn't give an inch. She uttered a few swear words her father would have hit her for - but it looked like he was already furious, so that didn't really matter - and turned around to Han with a begging look in her eyes.

With one look on her face, he understood and he took two paces backwards, ran to the door and kicked it open. Vivi felt her jaw drop and looked at him flabbergasted, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her along, the door smacking shut behind them. They ran hand in hand to the side of the forest, where it was dark and they wouldn't be seen.

Just past the line of the light of the house, they heard giggling, and saw a slightly undressed man and a woman kissing each other and laughing.

"Oh," they heard the woman say breathlessly when she saw them. She was the girl from the party, with the blue eyes and very long and very dark hair. Her hair was messy, her eyes shone in the moonlight and she only had her underdress on. The man behind her had green eyes, was very tall and had curly brown hair. His blouse was open and his jacket nowhere to be found.

"Gabriel and Cecily Lightwood," Han said, both as a greeting and as an explanation to Vivi.

"Hello, I'm Lavender Lovelace," she said with an apologetic shrug.

"Hi, Han! I didn't recognize you at first," Cecily said, and she looked quickly to their joined hands.

Vivi let go of his hand immediately. Han didn't flinch, but she could see his shoulders tense, and regretted it at once.

"Does Will know you two are out here?" Han joked, and Gabriel laughed.

"He's going to have to accept we do more than hold hands," Cecily responded with a grin, not realizing her choice of words was quite poor, considering the silent interaction that had just taken place.

"I think we've done more than enough as evicence, Cecy," said Gabriel with an even bigger grin on his face. Cecily hit him in the arm.

"Oh, yes, I'd heard! Congratulations on your… second, isn't it?"

"Yes, Anna is four already and Chris is our first son. Gabe was relieved when we found out he was a boy."

"That's not true!" Gabriel protested.

"You wanted someone to carry on the family name, Gabriel Lightwood. It's okay. I'm glad we have both a son and a daughter. Who are both healthy children, by the way."

"I'm glad to hear that," said Han sincerely. "Is everything all right with Will and Tessa's little one as well?"

"Yes, he's just turned two. He's a miracle child. He could already walk at six months and Tessa's teaching him how to read. A two year old child! It's extremely annoying." Cecily managed to sound both frustrated and proud simultaneously.

Vivi laughed.

"Just as annoying as those two, by the way. All they do is hold hands and stare in each other's eyes and reading out loud to each other."

_I think I'd like these people, _Vivi thought, and she could feel Han looking at her, as if he was reading her mind.

"Did you say your name was Lovelace, by the way?" said Gabriel suddenly.

Vivi nodded. She thought she knew where this was going.

"Jessamine was my sister," she said bluntly.

"I'm sorry," said Gabriel, and he looked at her concerned. "It's terrible what happened to her. And what's happening to her now, as well, by the way."

"I'm sorry - what?" Han said confused.

"Jessamine Lovelace died a few years ago during the whole automaton affair," said Cecily quietly. "I never knew her well, but I know that she was never supposed to get in the middle of that."

Vivi felt Han looking at her with a look that said _why didn't you tell me_.

"I never knew her well either. I was six when she moved to the Institute. She was ten years older. The only sister I knew was Prim, and she left when I was seven to study at the Academy." She realized how lonely she sounded.

"We should go," she said to Han. "My parents will be looking for me, and I'm not ready for a confrontation yet."

"It was nice meeting you," said Gabriel. Cecily didn't say anything but walked to Vivi and gave her a hug, out of nowhere.

"You remind me of Tessa," she said with a smile. "And that's a compliment. I'll introduce you two sometime soon. I know you'd like her."

Han gave Gabriel a hand, and Han and Vivi walked along the forest border. They stopped a few hundred meters further, and sat down on the moss, looking out over a small lake.

"You didn't tell me about your sister," said Han, with an accusing tinge to his voice.

"You didn't tell me about anything," Vivi replied.

"That's true. But you never told me your name until you introduced yourself to Cecily and Gabriel."

"You never asked."

"Lavender," he said softly. She didn't know why, but she felt a shiver go down her spine when he said her name. A good shiver.

"Call me Vivi," she said, closing her eyes and turning her head so the wind blew her hair from her face.

She felt his eyes on her. She was curious with what look he was staring. She'd noticed his eyes glistened when he was amused, but they could also get darker when he was sad or when the conversation was serious. It was weird in what short time she'd gotten to know him, while at the same time not knowing him at all. She opened her eyes and looked around.

He was still looking at her.

"What is it?" she said quietly.

He stayed silent. She felt tension between them, and a magnetic force that pulled her to him or him to her or both.

"Can I kiss you?" He said at once. It was as if he hadn't wanted to say it, but it had just come out and now it couldn't be taken back and it was too late. The world turned in slow-motion, but her thoughts went faster than ever. She decided there was only one thing she could do, and she nodded.

He took her hand and kissed the palm, then kissed her wrist and then her shoulder. Vivi closed her eyes and felt the same shivers she'd had earlier, but now over here whole body. She felt his lips against her neck, then her jaw, then the corner of her mouth.

She opened her eyes and saw his face a few inches away. The tips of their noses were almost touching and she felt his warm breath on her face. Her heart rate sped up and she realized something.

He was waiting. And again, there was only one thing she could do. She pressed her lips on his, hard at first but they softened against his after a second. She went with her hands through his hair, feeling the soft strands go through her fingers, and he had his hands on her back and in her hair. He pulled her closer and their kiss intensified.

It was her first kiss, and she'd always thought a first kiss could never surpass her expectations, because she was a romantic and first kisses were awkward and uncomfortable.

She had been wrong. She couldn't have come up with this in her wildest dreams.

And suddenly she felt hands on her arms and her being pulled backwards quite roughly.

She looked at Han, and he looked back just as confused. His lips were swollen, his eyes very dark - which was odd, since he had light blue eyes - and his hair looked as if someone had just messed it up - which was also the case. She wondered what she looked like herself.

At once, she realized what had disturbed their one minute in heaven. Her very angry father stood between them and was about to kick Han, who didn't suspect a thing.

"NO," she cried, and she threw herself in front of her father.

His foot landed right into her stomach and she doubled over, tears springing to her eyes and a low moan coming from her throat.

"Vivi!" Han called, and he reached for her, but her father wasn't done yet. He tried to kick Han again, who still sat on the ground with very little possibilities to defend himself.

But Han had been trained as a Shadowhunter, and jumped straight so fast you could barely see it. Her father hadn't fought in thirty years, so after a one minute struggle, he lay unconscious on the ground and Han bended over Vivi.

"Are you all right? No, of course not. That must hurt like hell. Come on, I'm carrying you to the house."

Vivi nodded, holding back her tears and trying to move her stomach muscles as little as possible.

"I'll send someone back for your father. I hit him on the head very lightly, so don't worry, he'll be fine." He lifted her carefully, with a firm but gentle grip. She put her head against his shoulders and felt the tears come. They weren't tears of pain - she had a high pain border - but of fury at her father for wanting to hurt Han. She only knew him a few hours, but she didn't like to see him hurt, she'd discovered.

"I'm mad at you, by the way," she heard Han mutter. "Jumping in front of your father like that - I could have taken the hit. I've been trained for it, remember?" He sounded genuinely angry.

She felt like she still shouldn't try to talk, so instead, she touched his cheek. He looked down at her and his eyes softened. She found them most beautiful that way - without pain or sadness and as if she was the only person in the world that could make him feel that way.

They walked into the mansion, where the party was still going. Han walked towards the blue eyed man, standing close to a beautiful girl with brown hair and big grey eyes. _This must be Will and Tessa._

"Her father is lying unconscious at the border of the forest about 400 meters north," Han said quietly to Will. "We were - sitting there." Vivi saw Will and Tessa exchange a quick and amused look. "And he threw Vivi a few feet backwards and tried to kick me, but she threw herself in front of me. I hit him on the head to get him down. I think he'll be conscious by now, but can we send for someone? I've got to take care of this stupid girl." His words were negative but his tone sounded loving, and Vivi laid her head back against his shoulder.

"You poor brave thing," Tessa said softly, and she grabbed her hand. "You're Jessie's sister, aren't you?"

Vivi nodded. She liked the way Tessa pronounced her sister's name, as if she had been really fond of her. Will was talking softly to another man, who nodded and walked outside.

"Take care of her," Will said, and looked at Vivi with a kind look in his eyes. "You look like her," he said to Vivi. "Like Jessie. But you're less girly and a bit more - spunky." Vivi laughed, which really hurt her stomach, so a weird noise between a laugh and a groan came out of her mouth. She sounded like she was in severe pain, and Han looked at her worried.

"I'm going to lay her down."

"Tess," said Will suddenly. He pronounced her name softly, as if it was the most beautiful word in the world. "You should join them. Maybe you can help." Tessa nodded.

"I'm going to help get your father. And maybe I can talk to him about - his reaction." He winked at Vivi, who tried to smile, but felt like that wasn't a success. Will walked outside with long strides and looked over his shoulder once, at Tessa.

Han laid her down softly on a sofa in a nearby room. Vivi had her eyes closed, and opened them when she felt his hand on her cheek. "Can I cut your dress? We need to look at your stomach. There is probably some very extensive internal bleeding. Don't worry - I can fix that. Wouldn't be the first time."

Vivi just nodded. Han conjured up a dagger engraved with a pattern of hills. He started to expertly and systematically cut her dress open to bare her stomach.

Tessa rolled her eyes. "They all carry those things everywhere, you know. Will too, and it's getting out of hand. Sometimes when the maid forgets the cutlery while making the table, he takes a knife from behind his ear of out of his sock and eats with that! And don't get me started on Charlotte - she's the head of the Institute, but I'm sure you've met her - she carries _knives _in her _hair_! I can't begin to understand what they need all those knives for - though I have to admit, it's quite handy in this particular situa-"

She stared at Vivi's stomach with her mouth open. She shut it immediately and looked her in the eye both apologetic and pitiful.

Vivi looked down and shut her eyes, because of the waves of nausea. In the middle of her stomach was a very black bruise in the shape of her father's shoe. The skin around that had multiple different colors: yellow, green, purple and red.

"You didn't tell me, Johannes, that he had fortified shoes on," Tessa said softly and accusingly between her teeth.

"I didn't know." Han looked as white as a sheet.

"I can try something. But it's going to hurt, so you have to distract her, because otherwise she'll pass out."

Han nodded. He took her hand, looked her in the eyes, and said: "You wanted to get to know me, didn't you?" Vivi nodded, thankful for the pressure of his hands on hers and the concentrated look in his eyes. Then the pain of Tessa's magic started, and she wanted to scream, but she concentrated on Han's voice.

"I was born near Lisbon, Portugal. You asked me why I look Scandinavian and have a Mediterranean surname. That's because my mother was from Switzerland - she's from a family called Morgenstern, I don't know if you've ever heard of that. They all have pale hair and light blue eyes. My father was Portuguese. My sister has brown skin, black hair and dark eyes. She's very slender, while I'm pretty tall and muscular."

Tessa's magic hurt her everywhere - an agonizing pain, not becoming less and not becoming worse - but still she wanted to reassure Han, so she smiled and said: "You're also very humble." He smiled, but his eyes didn't and only looked worried.

He went on with his story. "My full name is Johannes. It was my mother's father's name. My Portuguese name is João, by the way. It's pronounced Gu-aw. But you can still call me Han."

He was silent for a few seconds. She noticed she was panting and moaning and that she was sweating heavily. She saw he noticed that as well.

"When I was nine years old," Han continued with a different tone to his voice. "And Alícia was twelve, there was a warlock summoning a greater demon in Lisboa." He pronounced the Portuguese words with a really odd and smooth accent. "My parents went, and I wanted to go too. I hadn't gotten marks, obviously, and had had very little training - frankly, I'd only been training myself a little bit - but I wanted to experience a demon hunt. I sneaked out after them and followed them through the city. My sister saw me sneak out and followed me. She tried to get me to go back with her, but I wouldn't go. The more times something is forbidden, the more I want it."

The pain was slowly subsiding and made way for a dull feeling around her stomach. She noticed she was clasping Han's hand as if it was her only life line, but at this point in his story, he was clasping her hands just as much.

"She gave up and said she'd go with me because she was scared if I went alone. I didn't care. I put her in impeccable danger and I just - didn't care. When we arrived after the apartment, our parents were inside for maybe 20 seconds. We went inside. I'd sneaked a seraph blade somewhere and I was as fearless as a nine year old boy who has no idea about the outside world can be. I saw a warlock, who was being overpowered by my parents. And I saw a pentagram - though I didn't know what that was at that time - and inside a man. I knew that must be the Greater Demon they'd gotten the message about, but I didn't understand. It was a short man, quite old, and I was almost as tall as him while being nine years old. I grabbed my seraph blade and ran into the pentagram - my parents only saw me when it was too late - and tried to put the seraph blade into the demon's heart. Only, the blade had vanished from my hand the moment I stepped over the lines of the pentagram. And the worst thing was, my sister had ran after me to try to stop me - and ran right with me into the pentagram."

The pain was completely gone now, and she noticed Tessa had gone too. Han's voice, however, was full of pain. He wasn't crying, but his face was a hurtful grimace.

"Han, you don't have to continue if you-"

"I can still hear my parents' screams sometimes. They begged the demon to let us go, that they would give anything. The demon knew something. If he could take their souls - I still don't understand, but souls are powerful, apparently - he'd let us go. They readily agreed. He took their souls, and their bodies fell limp to the ground. I was crying, and Alícia screaming. But demons don't have to keep their word. This one certainly wasn't planning to. He took Alícia's soul too. He told me how it was all my fault - but I knew that already. The only thing I could do was cry."

Han was silent again. He sighed. "And then the demon vanished. The warlock had sent him away. The warlock disappeared too. So I sat there, in a pentagram, with the lifeless bodies of my parent and my sister, who had died for me. And all I could do was cry. But haven't cried since that day."

Vivi felt her own tears streaming down her face. She'd never heard such an awful story. And she really didn't know what to say. She was sure there were no right words. So she did the only thing she could do. She pressed her lips on his, tasting salt because of her own tears. He kissed her back - first almost unwillingly, but then very hard and passionate. It was as if he laid his pain into it.

She didn't know for how long it lasted, but after a weak "ahem" they stopped. Will stood in the door opening.

"I'm glad to see you're looking better, Lavender," he said with twinkling eyes. "I have news for you two. Your father is conscious, only a bit of a headache. Excellent hit, Han." Han didn't give a reaction. Vivi took his hand again.

"I think you're going to have to have a good conversation with him, but I'm not going to let him near you tonight. I'll explain the situation to your mother and I'm sure we'll come up with a plan for your stay the upcoming nights. If necessary, you're welcome at the Institute as well. You can have Jessie's old room - we haven't had the courage to clear that out."

Vivi nodded, and tried to make clear with her eyes that they needed alone-time. Will seemed to get the message and closed the door.

When they were alone, Vivi looked at Han. "Han, about that story-"

"I don't want to talk about it." He had a cold look in his eyes.

"I do. It was a horrible story." He looked at her surprised, probably having expected she'd say it wasn't his fault.

"And not because of what you did. Yes, you were incredibly stupid. You were as stupid and reckless and headstrong as only a nine year old boy can be. But that's the point. _You were nine_, Han. You do stupid things when you are nine. You learn from them. Only in your case, you lost the most important people in your life because of your own stupidity. But it wasn't really because of your own stupidity, was it? Did you kill your parents? Absolutely not. It was that horrible creature.

This is a story of stupid people and horrible monsters. Your parents should have made sure you wouldn't come after them - especially since they knew you wanted to come. Your sister should have fought with you harder to get you back - even if she'd had to use physical force. That warlock should never - _never_ \- have tried to summon a Greater Demon. And you shouldn't have gone after your parents and especially shouldn't have run into that pentagram.

But the fault lies with the Greater Demon, doesn't it? He could have let you go, but didn't. He could have proposed a different deal, but didn't. He could have let you go after your parents' sacrifice, but didn't. He killed your parents and your sister and he is the creature that should be killed, not only out of revenge but above all because he is a danger to people like you and your family. So you shouldn't feel guilty about this story. You should mourn your family and draw strength from them. It'll make sure that flame that makes you want to fight for a better world keeps burning as bright as it is doing now."

Han stared at her. She read in his eyes still the pain and grief that came from the story, mixed with admiration and affection. _Trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her like the sun, even without looking_, she'd read in a novel once. She understood what it meant.

"You're perfect," Han said abruptly.

"We've known each other for four hours, Han-" Vivi began, but he interrupted her.

"You look at me with those dreamy eyes and I have no idea what you're thinking. You listen to my story without interrupting me once, and you see the pain on my face but you let me deal with it on my own because you see that that is what I need. You let me tell my story and when I finish, you don't try to say something but you kiss me like I've never been kissed and like I want to be kissed for the rest of my life. Your own father beats you because of me and yet here you are, telling me that I'm a good man and I shouldn't feel guilty for what happened to my family. You're perfect, and when I see you, all I want to do is stare at you and listen to you and kiss you at the same time. So that's what I'm going to do - because I really need it."

And he kissed her again. And this time they weren't interrupted.

**Epilogue**

"May I have this dance?"

Vivi rolled her eyes. "You don't have to ask that every time you see me sitting somewhere tonight, Han." Still, she stood up and let him take her to the dance floor.

"I'm sorry. I just think it's very symbolic that our first meeting was at a wedding and now we're at our own." His eyes glistened as he looked at her, that sunshine look she loved so much.

"I love you," she said, and she kissed him on the lips.

"Get a room, you two!" It was her older sister, who sat at her family's table with a very pregnant belly. Her mother sat next to her, smiling.

After the events at the last wedding they had been at, she'd told the story about her father to her mother. Her mother had become icily calm, which meant she was really furious. She'd explained to Prim and Vivi that their father hated Shadowhunters so much was because they murdered his Parabatai who'd been turned into a werewolf. She'd kicked her father out of their house by the end of the day.

Because Han had already been planning to travel and live in different Institutes across the world, he'd first come to London, obviously. He'd train with the London enclave, do patrols and missions, and she'd read and study, as she'd always done. The fact that she knew Shadowhunters now, didn't mean she wanted to kill demons. She was perfectly content with her books.

She did like that she'd made a few friends among the Shadowhunters. She'd never had any friends, and she hadn't noticed she'd missed them until she had a few. One of her best friends was Brenda Branwell - soon to be Wayland, who was a good friend of Prim's new family and visited London fairly often, because her brother Henry was head of the Institute.

After living in London, she and Han had traveled across the world. The only requirement for their destinations was the presence of an Institute. Vivi loved it everywhere - new languages to learn, new people to meet and especially new books to read.

There was one place she wanted to go more than anywhere else, and Han refused, which was his childhood home in Portugal. She'd harp on about it, try different things to persuade him, but nothing seemed to work.

Except one time in Phnom Penh, Cambodja, when Han out of the blue announced they would be going to Lisboa, Portugal. She'd looked him in the eye dumbfounded, and all she could think of to say was "Are you sure?". He'd laughed and tickled him until she'd begged for mercy, and they hadn't talked about it.

Once they were in Portugal, it became clear pretty quickly why he'd suddenly been so eager. In the orange orchard in the garden of his childhood home, he went down on one knee, said something incredibly cheesy and incredibly romantic, and he'd asked her to marry her. Obviously, she'd said yes, and cried - a lot. And the most special touch of his proposal was that he couldn't hold his own tears back either. She'd thought about a boy, nine years old, who'd cried for one day and never since, and her heart grew.


End file.
